


Bechloe Week 2018

by 22_Ti



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Accidental Kissing, Bechloe Week 2018, F/F, Fear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-15 11:11:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15411630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/22_Ti/pseuds/22_Ti
Summary: These are my little stories for Bechloe Week 2018. My first attempt and it looks fun - so why not.





	1. Accidental KIss

Luckily for the Bella's, Fat Amy's official birthday only came once a year. However, nobody could ever find her driver's license or sneak a glance at her passport. Once the girls noticed that she was having them throw her parties every few months, they voted that March 2nd would be her one and only birthday, the only day a year she could celebrate.

This year, the a capella girls were partying at the Westin Hotel in Atlanta. Fat Amy had rented one of the banquet rooms on the second floor and had the hotel staff decorate with bean bags chairs and overstuffed floor pillows. After checking in, Amy wanted to immediately start drinking. Of course the others thought it wiser to get a bite to eat. But shortly thereafter, the alcohol was freely flowing in the banquet room.

"Truth or Dare! Truth or Dare! Truth or Dare!" Amy's incessant chanting was annoying, but it was her birthday after all so they acquiesced to her wishes. She then commandeered the largest bean bag chair, plopped her birthday tiara on her head, and proclaimed herself the Truth or Dare queen. "I am now in command," she stated as she waved her wand around. "All truths and all dares must go through me."

Amy ordered her friends to write down their suggestions for consideration and put the slips of paper into one of two cups – Truth or Dare. She reminded them that she held the monarch power to override any slip that was drawn from the cups.

* * *

Several rounds circled the girls as Amy would pull slips of paper. Sometimes she would use the suggestion; sometimes she would toss it aside to make up something asinine. Eventually Chloe's turn came around again. Frankly she was tired of drinking the concoctions Amy was coming up with, so she blurted out, "Truth!"

Amy made a huge production of pulling out a truth recommendation and made as if she was seriously considering the words someone had printed. She finally decided to accept it and read out. "What is your biggest fear?"

The redhead's eyes grew wide, and she began to get antsy as she wished she had taken "Dare" and just taken the inevitable alcohol hit. She could feel her throat getting a bit tight since just thinking about what scared her the most could bring on a panic attack in an instant.

"Come on Red. Out with it." The drunker Amy got, the less patience she had.

"Ummm, heights. I'm terrified of heights." Chloe hung her head down, waiting for the laughter from her friends. She didn't recall ever telling any of the Bellas except for Aubrey about her biggest fear. When no laughter came, she breathed a sigh of relief as she looked up to see her friends carrying on as if she hadn't just told them about one thing that frightened her most in the world. Beca, who was sitting next to her, looked over at her and flashed her a comforting smile.

Next was the tiniest Bella's turn. "Dare!" Beca announced. She was nervous as fuck that the birthday queen would squeeze some dastardly truth from her, and everyone knew she wasn't big in the sharing department. So dare it was.

Amy didn't even bother drawing a slip of paper. Her eyes flitted back and forth between Beca and Chloe before she got a nonchalant look on her face. "Are you sure Shortstack?" Beca nodded. "Okay then, I dare you to take Chloe to the top of the hotel. In the glass elevators."

Both Beca and Chloe's mouth dropped opened. "Dude. No! This is my dare. Not Chloe's."

"My birthday! My rules." She threw her wand at Beca's head for emphasis.

Beca stood up and looked down at her friend. Chloe put on a brave face and held out her hand to be pulled up and out of the bean bag. As the two walked off towards the glass elevators, Amy called out after them. "Pictures or it didn't happen, Pitches!"

* * *

"Chloe, we don't have to do this. The girls will never know." Beca tried comforting the redhead as they walked to one of the two enormous glass elevators that would take them seventy-three stories to the top of the Westin Hotel.

"You know we do Beca.  _Pictures or it didn't happen._ " She mocked Amy's words sarcastically. "I would never do anything like this to her." Her voice was shaky, but she was doing a good job at trying to hide her terror.

"Nobody says you have to look. Here." Beca pulled off her hoodie and gave it to Chloe. "You can cover your face the entire way up." When they arrived at the elevator, Beca pushed the button and then the wait began. Luckily they were the only two waiting for that car, so no strangers would be present for Chloe's struggle.

Once the doors opened, they stepped in and Beca pushed the button for the top floor. "Well there  _is_  a bar up there. A cool rotating one. If you end up being okay with things, maybe we can take a look around and have a drink." She grasped Chloe's hand. "I won't let anything happen to you."

There were flashing blue neon lights surrounding the windows of the elevator and an annoying woman's voice coming over the speakers narrating their trip up. As soon as the elevator cleared the lower floors and the outside became visible, Beca's body tensed up as she choked back a gasp of her own. Chloe had Beca's hoodie pulled tight around her face, and her eyes screwed shut for extra protection from the view. She was so apprehensive that she didn't not feel Beca's agitation.

About forty-five seconds into the ride, Chloe's stomach sank as she heard Beca whimper as the elevator came to an abrupt halt somewhere around the middle of the ride. "Beca. Beca? What's going on?"

"Umm, I think we are stuck. At least the lights are still on." Beca began banging on the emergency call button. They could hear the phone ringing, but nobody picked up. "Surely they know their elevators are busted."

Chloe began to hyperventilate. "Beca! We can't be trapped in this monstrosity of a glass coffin. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." She grabbed Beca's arm as she slid to the floor, pulling the brunette with her. Chloe took a chance and peeked out at her friend for reassurance. "Becs, what's wrong? You look as though you've seen a ghost." Beca shook her head and clung tightly to Chloe. Somehow Chloe mustered some bravado. "Tell me Becs. We are in this together."

Beca buried her head into the oversized sleeve of the hoodie she had loaned Chloe and was using it to wipe some errant tears. Both women were quite a mess, nerves shot to hell. "I'm badass Beca. I'm badass Beca." Her repeated words were muffled by the thick cloth and spoken so low that Chloe barely heard her.

"My badass." Chloe teased. "Now talk to me. This is  _my_  biggest fear. We can't both fall apart in here."

Scooting closer still, Beca closed the gap to give comfort to both of them. As she opened her mouth to speak, the elevator was plunged into darkness – even the neon lights fading in their illumination. Both women shrieked. "Talk to me Beca. Please? Now I can really see the lights outside and know how high up we are. I need you to talk to me."

"God I hate Amy." Beca grumbled then took a sigh. "Chloe – nobody knows this – but my biggest fear is… being trapped in an elevator." The women kept a tight grip on each other's arms.

Finally, Chloe spoke. "Well this just sucks." Beca laughed at the redhead's candor.

As time passed, the pair became more and more nervous – Chloe at how high they were above the city and Beca as she went through all of the ways she could fall over forty stories and die. Eventually Chloe pulled the hoodie strings tight again hiding her face. Beca needed to see Chloe's eyes since she felt that was all that was keeping her calm. She positioned both their bodies facing each other and began to run her fingers across Chloe's face, tucking her hands in to brush her red hair back behind her ears. Beca leaned up and pressed a friendly kiss against Chloe's forehead, something she had done hundreds of times before as they cuddled in bed or on the couch during a movie.

Beca then used the pads of her thumbs to brush away the tears flowing from her friend's eyes. She ducked her head down to kiss Chloe's cheek, trying to find some familiar comfort for them both. What she didn't expect was the redhead turning her head about the same time, so Beca's lips caught Chloe's firmly on the mouth. Beca froze at the electric shock she felt race through her at the intimate contact. Even more surprising was before she realized it, Chloe was actually kissing her back.

Just as Beca truly realized what was happening, the lights flashed back on in the elevator as the car lurched and began its upward journey to the top of the hotel. The pair quickly broke the kiss and scrambled to their feet, both seemingly relieved to be moving again. Despite ending the kiss, neither was willing to let go of the other's arms. Once they got to the top of the building, they quickly exited and snapped the requisite pictures. From the top of the hotel, Chloe pulled up her Instagram and posted several pictures of both women – ragged but grinning from ear to ear – #fearsconquered.

* * *

 


	2. Jealousy

**Tuesday: Jealousy**

* * *

Chloe took a double take as she glanced across the quad and saw a familiar figure standing under one of the trees. She squinted to make sure that the woman was indeed her friend, but what else she was seeing did not compute with what she knew about Beca Mitchell. The stand-offish tiny brunette was standing there talking to a slender, tall girl with dark skin and a short, clipped head of curly hair.

The girl had a messenger bag draped over her shoulder that looked a lot like the one that Beca carried around for her laptop. When she handed the bag to Beca, Chloe's mouth dropped open. She was flabbergasted that the unknown person actually had been carrying the bag that was totally off-limits to everyone that Beca knew.

Not quite knowing what to do, Chloe watched as the two woman she'd been watching bid their goodbyes and go their separate directions. As she stood frozen to the spot she stopped at when she first saw Beca, Chloe realized an odd feeling had crept from her chest into her stomach. She bent slightly at her knees holding her abdomen until she could shake off the butterflies in her belly.

* * *

After the Bella's weekend at the Lodge of Fallen Leaves where they worked on getting their sound back, Chloe thought things had been improving between her and Beca. They had shared a few intimate conversations while camping, and Beca had surprisingly come clean about her internship at Residual Heat. Now the redhead was doubting their friendship all over again.

After Chloe was able to shake off the awkward feelings that had come up after seeing someone carrying Beca's messenger bag, she walked slowly back to the Bella House. As she quietly let herself in, her plan was to sneak upstairs to her room and avoid the other girls. When one foot was placed on the stairs, she heard a bellowing voice behind her.

"Red! You are home!" Fat Amy was plopped on the couch with a huge bowl of popcorn in her lap. "Beca's spinning tonight at a new club. It's all hands on deck to show support." Slowly turning to face her housemate, Chloe started to open her mouth to make up an excuse to get out of being in sight of Beca until she got this latest mystery unraveled. Amy saw the look on her face and threw a handful of popcorn in her general direction. "All. Hands. On. Deck. Period. Plus, some of the Trebles will be there. Oh, and Aubrey. The gang's all back together."

* * *

Aubrey came over to the Bella House and make sure that Chloe got ready to go out. Amy had told her that she might have to calf-rope the redhead to get her to join them. The blonde noticed that her friend was acting a little mopey but figured she was just in a mood. She tried to cheer Chloe up by telling her that the theme was 80's night. Aubrey was humored to even think that Beca had enough 80's music to keep up with the requests on her laptop. By the time they were walking into the club, Chloe had finally shaken the weirdness from seeing Beca with that girl on campus.

The women all got their drinks and found seats around a few tables next to some of the Trebles who dared showed up to 80's night. When Chloe glanced up to see Beca not in the booth, her head was on a swivel trying to catch a glimpse of her favorite DJ. Shortly she spied Jesse and Beca holding hands as he walked her to where she would be working. He gave the tiny brunette a chaste kiss on the cheek before heading over to sit with the Trebles. A grumpy noise escaped Chloe's throat, but he  _was_  her boyfriend.

Chloe saw a figure scurrying from the front door, headed directly to Beca. She was the same girl from earlier in the quad. Chloe's hands began to quiver as she saw the stranger unsling Beca's messenger bag and hand it to her. They spoke a few minutes then the girl went to find a seat with another group of younger college students.

The redhead's fight or flight mechanisms were kicking in, and she had to concentrate quite had to keep from fleeing the club. Chloe fixed her eyes on the intruder who had the nerve to carry Beca's laptop and tried to stare a hole at her from across the room. Her actions did not go unheeded by some of her friends, mainly Stacie and Fat Amy who were across the table and had seen how Chloe had reacted to the stranger talking to Beca.

After everyone had time for a round of drinks, the DJ, Beca of course, announced that the theme of the night was 80's music and that she was indeed taking requests.

Once Beca had mashed a few songs together, she reached for a request card and spoke into the mic. "Our first request of the night is from my friend Stacie. A great song from the Black Crowes. I expect everyone to be singing!" Beca was great at getting the crowd riled up – even for 80's night. She then spun the song.

_Cheat the odds that made you/Brave to try to gamble at times_  
_Well I feel like dirty laundry/Sending sickness on down the line_  
_Tell you why, 'cause I'm_   


_Jealous, jealous again/Thought it time I let you in  
_ _Yeah, I'm jealous, jealous again_

_Always drunk on Sunday/Tryin' to feel like I'm at home_  
_Smell the gasoline burning/Boys out feeling nervous and cold_  
_Ooh yeah, yeah, I'm jealous, jealous again_   


_Stop, understand me/I ain't afraid of losing face  
_ _Stop, understand me/I ain't afraid of ever losing faith in you_

_Never felt like smiling/Sugar wanna kill me yet/Find me loose lipped and laughing  
_ _Singing songs, ain't got no regrets/Oh yeah yeah, I'm jealous, jealous again_

C.R. and Stacie had their eyes glued on Chloe who was trying so hard to ignore them – and apparently attempting to ignore the song as well. When the final words had been sung and notes played, C.R. and Stacie high-fived each other and kept snickering into their drinks.

Beca was watching the interaction, humored, and rolled her eyes at her friends. She had been trying to catch Chloe's attention, but the redhead was flat out ignoring her. She shrugged and continued to play songs from possibly the worst decade other than the 70's.

Soon the DJ was passed another card from the audience. She read it and tossed her head back for a hard laugh. "Okay folks, this request doesn't say who it's from *coff* Fat Amy *coff* but it is dedicated to," she put her fingers up in an air quote as she read off the card. "Our special friend. She knows who she is." All Beca could do was to shake her head and put on the song. "Rick Springfield everyone."

_Jesse is a friend, yeah/I know he's been a good friend of mine  
_ _But lately something's changed that ain't hard to define_

_Jesse's got himself a girl and I want to make her mine/And she's watching him with those eyes_  
_And she's loving him with that body, I just know it/Yeah 'n' he's holding her in his arms late, late at night  
_ _You know/I wish that I had Jesse's girlI wish that I had Jesse's girl_

Chloe's head popped out of the conversation she was having with Aubrey and she stared towards the DJ booth, face a deep, embarrassing scarlet. She then glanced over at the table of Trebles to see if Jesse was reacting. He, too, was staring at the DJ booth. Suddenly his head whipped over to the Bella table. When he caught Chloe staring at him, she quickly dropped her eyes and started acting like she was talking to Aubrey.

_Where can I find a woman like that/I play along with the charade_  
_There doesn't seem to be a reason to change/You know, I feel so dirty when they start talking cute  
_ _I wanna tell her that I love her/But the point is probably moot_

_…_

_I wish that I had Jesse's girl/Where can I find a woman like that/Like Jesse's girl  
_ _And I'm looking in the mirror all the time/Wondering what she don't see in me_

_I've been funny, I've been cool with the lines/Ain't that the way love supposed to be  
_

_Tell me, where can I find a woman like that/You know, I wish that I had Jesse's girl  
_ _I wish that I had Jesse's girl/I want Jesse's girl_

THAT song couldn't get over too quickly for Chloe. She knew Fat Amy had requested it and was so embarrassed. Luckily 80's night was about over, so Chloe mumbled some excuses to her friends and left for home so she could wallow in misery in peace.

* * *

When Beca got home from her gig that night, she had to literally drag Chloe back downstairs to spend some time with her while she would down from work. "Grumpy Chloe doesn't suit you." Beca smirked as she took a sideways glance at Chloe. "I never pegged you one to get like that."

Chloe tossed her hair over her shoulder and did her best at acting innocent. "Like what?" Refusing to make eye contact with her friend made her seem that much more guilty.

"You know …"

The redhead rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "What Beca? Just tell me." She knew she was being petty, but the entire situation was trivial. Or was it?

"Tonight, you seemed different. I don't know." Beca was struggling to choose the right words. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke again.

_How all the other passions fleet to air,_  
_As doubtful thoughts, and rash-embraced despair,_  
_And shuddering fear, and green-eyed jealousy! O love,_  
_Be moderate; allay thy ecstasy,_  
_In measure rein thy joy; scant this excess._  
_I feel too much thy blessing: make it less,  
_ _For fear I surfeit._

Chloe didn't respond as she was caught off guard by her friend's seemingly random quote. Beca continued. "You know – the phrase green-eyed jealousy was conceivably coined by Shakespeare as the phrase first in his 1596  _The Merchant of Venice_."

"And you know this, how?"

"Seriously? You've taken my dad's class. He's just a plethora of knowledge when it comes to cultural expression in literature. He thinks he's being all cool. By default, I'm now cool. Impressive quote, eh?" She got up and went to the freezer to retrieve a pint of ice cream for them to share.

Chloe snatched the creamy treat and dug in for the first bite then passed the container back to Beca. "So, tell me. Who's the girl?" She waved her spoon around in the air like she was making light conversation.

Beca began coughing as her bite of ice cream started going down her windpipe. She tilted her head back as she tried to melt the ice milk so it would run down her throat and not choke her. "You WERE jealous! I knew it." She shouted and began laughing as she took another bite, making sure to snot get caught off guard this time.

"I know all of your friends Beca. ALL of them. And I've never seen her before." Chloe was trying to explain without her blue eyes seeming to turn green.

"If that's what tonight was all about, don't fret your little red head bud. She's nobody you need to be concerned with."

"Beca! I saw you two in the quad yesterday. Then tonight… in the DJ booth. Why do you think I didn't visit you when you were spinning? SHE was in there."

"So that's where all those cheesy song requests from the Bellas came from?" Chloe nodded. "You guys are too much." Beca was quiet for a bit as she scraped the bottom of the now empty carton of ice cream.

Chloe crossed her arms, moved away from the brunette a bit, and began pouting. All Beca did was laugh. "Don't laugh at me." Chloe swatted her arm. "She had your messenger bag Beca. With your laptop. NOBODY touches your laptop."

Knowing that she had Chloe on the ropes, Beca began teasing her friend. "Ahhh so the truth is starting to come out. You…" she pointed to Chloe, "are jealous because you saw me with a girl you don't know. AND because she dared touch my messenger bag which we all know is a cardinal sin." Beca began to chuckle and before long was laughing full out, holding her stomach even.

Chloe scooted even further away and turned her back to her friend. "You are mean." Now her voice had turned to a whine. "Whoooooooooooo is she Beca?"

"She's nobody; I promise."

"Then can I carry your messenger bag to practice tomorrow?" Chloe was now pushing Beca's buttons.

"Nope." The two went back and forth a while as Chloe tried to wheedle information from Beca who was keeping mum for the sake of principal. Finally, Chloe tried the tactic of last resort – tickling. Beca immediately reacted by flailing her arms and kicking. "No, no, NO! Chloeeeeee, stop."

"Tell me then." Chloe gave her friend a momentary pause.

As soon as she stopped, Beca relented. "Her name is Dot." Chloe motioned for her to go on since that wasn't quite enough information. "She's a freshman, and she's Sammy's niece." The blank look on Chloe's face told Beca that the connection had still not been made. "Sammy… from Residual Heat. You know – my boss."

"That doesn't explain why she's hanging out with you! You are a senior."

"And? Emily is a freshman AND you hung out with me when I was a freshman and you were a senior. Because she's my boss's niece Chloe. That's why. That makes her Dax's brother. And for that reason, I feel incredibly bad for her since Dax is a total idiot."

"So… brownie points with your boss?"

"Something like that. She's a good kid though."

Chloe was able to accept what Beca told her about her boss's niece and push that threat out of her mind. She then put her thinking cap on…  _nooooooooooooow what to do about Jesse?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jealous Again: Black Crowes
> 
> Jessie's Girl: Rick Springfield (spelling altered for obvious reasons)


	3. Drunk Texting

 

Beca was leaned up against a tree by the river. The sun had since set, and she was just here. Numb perhaps. She reached into the ice chest and felt around in the cold water for another beer and came up empty. Disgusted, she glanced around at the empty bottles scattered around her legs. Using the tree to support her weight, she pushed herself to her feet and reached down to grab a bottle. Swaying as she stood up, Beca cocked her arm ready to launch the glass into the river then took a second look at her hand as if it wasn't attached to her shoulder.

Realizing throwing glass into a stream of running water wasn't the wisest idea. She dropped the bottle to the ground and began to kick the empties into a pile. "Make good choices." Her voice mocked her own from the aca-initiation night when that gorgeous redhead had come running up to her, grasped her hands and pulled right up to her face. "God, how dumb can you sound Beca?"

She couldn't quite get a good read on the Bella's kinder and gentler co-captain. Chloe was so friendly and flirty, and then there was the whole shower incident. But she had been with a guy when she busted into Beca's shower which left the brunette thoroughly confused. She had decided to uncomplicate the situation and just avoid the girl all together.

She went to her car and rummaged around in the trunk until she came up with a trash bag she didn't know had been hiding. She stumbled back to the haphazard pile of empties and began to fill the bag. Every once in a while, she'd shake a bottle that had a bit of liquid remaining, start to take a drink, then gag once she realized what she was about to do.

A light rain was starting to fall just about the time Beca finished cleaning up her mess. She stuck the trash bag and empty ice chest into her trunk and crawled into the passenger side to watch the rain which was coming down a little more steadily. She dared not even slip her keys into the ignition or think of driving home. She had finished off a six pack of beer at the river along with the ones she had earlier at the bar. She was in no shape to drive. Plus, she enjoyed the weather, and this gave her an excuse to sit and enjoy the large drops hit the river water.

Beca was quickly bored and took out her phone to check the battery life. She had a little under 50% so she decided to surf a little bit and maybe play some games. Somehow before she realized it, she was several messages into a conversation with the woman she'd come out here drinking to forget.

[Titanium]: Chloeeeeee! (2:34 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Beca? Are you okay? (2:36 am)  
[Titanium]: Yup! (2:36 am)  
[Titanium]: Just wanted to say hi waving emoji (2:36 am)

[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Are you making good choices (2:38 am)  
[Titanium]: That's MY line, tsk tsk (2:39 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: :)~ (2:40 am)  
[Titanium]: But yes. Good choices (2:40 am)

[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Where are you? (2:43 am)  
[Titanium]: River tree (2:44 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: ? (2:44 am)  
[Titanium]: River tree (2:44 am)

[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Beca, seriously. Are you okay? (2:46 am)  
[Titanium]: Yup (2:46 am)

[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Where are you? (2:47 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Beca? (2:50 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Beca! (2:54 am)

Beca had faded out of the conversation when she stumbled back to the trunk of the car and found a half full bottle of whiskey stashed under the spare tire. After a few slugs of the amber liquid, she realized her phone was still buzzing.

[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Beca? Come on. This isn't funny (3:02 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: I'm worried [single tear sad emoji] (3:04 am)

[Titanium]: question mark emoji (3:06 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: OMG Did you just type out 'question mark emoji' (3:07 am)  
[Titanium]: nods head emoji (3:07 am)

Chloe was giggling but concerned at the same time.

[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Beca? Have you been drinking? (3:08 am)  
[Titanium]: Nope (3:09 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Honestly? (3:09 am)  
[Titanium]: Nope, liar emoji (3:10 am)  
[Titanium]: I'm drank, alcoholic emoji (3:10 am)

[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Where are you Beca? I'm on my way (3:12 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: BECA! (3:13 am)  
[Titanium]: What? (3:14 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Where are you? I'll come pick you up (3:15 am)  
[Titanium]: River tree (3:17 am)

By this time, Chloe was beyond frustrated. She knew that Beca most likely wouldn't drive after she'd been drinking, but she didn't want to take a chance. She'd heard stories of people getting arrested and charged with DUI, even if they were sleeping it off in their car. But before she could get Beca, she had to find her.

She decides that Beca just isn't making any sense with texts and calls her number which immediately goes to voicemail.  _That's odd_ , she thought.

[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Okay, tell me where you are (3:19 am)

Beca stared down at her phone which was now showing nothing but a black screen. She shook it a few times then banged it on the dashboard to try to get the device to power back on. Her vision wasn't quite the best due to the beer and whiskey she had downed. She fumbled with the cord to make sure it was connected to her phone and to the car's USB jack as well.

She pressed the buttons a few times to no avail. Squinting at the front of the car, trying to figure out her situation in her inebriated state. She realized that her phone battery was in fact dead. And her car was off, so no charging was taking place. "Easy fix," she muttered. She fumbled around to find her keys and turned her car into accessory mode to at least get the power going to charge her phone. While she waited for it to charge, she crawled out of the car with her now almost empty whiskey bottle and wandered along the river bank.

Beca was swinging the now empty bottle around and singing to music that existed only in her head. She was dancing, well stumbling around, having a grand time. After some time had passed, the brunette had a nagging feeling in her mind that there was something that she was forgetting. Leaning against the car for support, Beca reached into her jacket pocket for her phone. She freaked out when it wasn't in its normal place and began frantically patting all of her pockets, feeling for her device which was always close at hand.

She spun around, whipped open the car door and began to search in case she had earlier dropped it. She gave an exaggerated sigh of relief when she saw her phone plugged into the power port. She turned off the car and powered on her phone. As the alerts began to stream across her screen, she staggered back and tripped over her feet, falling on her butt. She knew she should be in pain, but right now everything was just so damned funny.

[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Beca answer your phone (3:22 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Please? (3:24 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: I just need to know where you are (3:28 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Ugh, your phone is dead (3:35 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Just call me when you get these, please (3:36 am)

"Awww she's worried about me." Beca had rolled over on her back but didn't bother to get up – in part because she didn't think her wobbly legs would hold her. The copious amounts of alcohol were sloshing about in her stomach and wreaking havoc on her system.

[Titanium]: ber b4 likker, sickr (3:58 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: OMG Beca (3:58 am)  
[Titanium]: drunk emoji (3:59 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: QUIT BEING SILLY BECA, I'VE BEEN WORRIED (4:00 am)

[Titanium]: wow (4:04 am)  
[Titanium]: grond spin moji (4:04 am)  
[Titanium]: B sleep zz (4:06 am)

[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Let me come get you? Please? (4:06 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Beca? (4:08 am)  
[Hot Naked Shower Chick]: Ugh – for someone so cute, you are annoying as hell (4:11 am)

Chloe waited for a response that she knew would never come. She threw her phone down on the bed next to her and hoped that maybe at least Beca was some place comfortable.

* * *

Sunrise came early the next morning, and Beca's head was pounding. She squinted her eyes and looked around at her environment trying to figure out why the hell she was laying in the grass next to her car. She vaguely remembered tripping and ending up on the ground. Apparently, she had been too lazy to get up and had fallen asleep with her phone in her hand.

She struggled to her feet and made her way to the car and pulled herself into the driver's seat. Her phone battery was like on 2%, so she cranked her car to charge her phone while she got her bearings. When she pressed the home button and unlocked her phone, the realization hit that she'd been drunk texting with Chloe. An overwhelming sense of dread filled her as she scrolled to the top of the conversation and began to read through the conversation.

When she got to the final message, she froze and read it over and over. The only thing that stuck in her mind were the words -  _for someone so cute, you are annoying as hell._  She knew she was annoying, but the important part was that CHLOE THOUGHT SHE WAS CUTE. Maybe this a capella thing would work out after all.


	4. Why?

 

Beca lay on her bed with her feet propped against the wall. She had her music cranked loud and her headphones pulled snug against her ears. Her feet and hips both moved with the beats of the tunes. If she were to be honest with herself, she was trying to escape from her mind into her music. She and Chloe had a rather serious conversation earlier in the day, and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about it.

The brunette had initiated the discussion, and now that it was over, she wasn't convinced if she'd done the right thing. Beca and Chloe had been dating for about eight months. If what they were doing could even be considered dating. It was more like a relationship with no labels but maybe only friends with benefits. Who the fuck knew.

At the beginning of the semester, both Chloe were going through some issues. They spent a great deal of time together facing some hardships and ended up finding comfort in each other both emotionally and physically. This closeness lead to Beca falling in love while Chloe was just hanging out and taking things day by day. Recently Beca had been trying to define things a little better, but the harder she tried, the more confusing things got.

Frankly, she was tired and annoyed with everything Chloe. Beca had been trying to convince herself that wasn't insanely in love with her friend, but anybody who knew Beca – or even looked at her – immediately knew she was head over heels for the redhead. "Ride it out Beca." She kept repeating her mantra in her head as her feet continued to keep beat against the wall. "Someday maybe she'll see how much I love her." Fisting her hands against her hips, Beca refused to believe Chloe didn't want the same things she wanted.

Her mind drifted back to the talk that she'd had with Chloe that morning. Just thinking of that conversation had her stomach in knots. Maybe giving Chloe somewhat of an ultimatum wasn't the wisest idea, but this non-relationship-relationship was eating her alive.  _What ARE we Chloe? I need to have some definition around this dance we've been dancing for months_. But because of Chloe's inability to classify what was between them, Beca felt she had allowed her heart to be trampled on to where she barely recognized herself.

When she felt a body sit on the bed next to her, Beca stopped the music pulled and pulled off her headphones. Stacie had come in to check on her. "You okay B?"

Beca blew her hair off her forehead up and gave a deep sigh. She shrugged her shoulders as she pulled off her headphones. "I dunno Stacie."

Of all the Bellas, Stacie and Beca were the closest – not counting Chloe of course. She'd been watching her friend fall apart bit by bit over the last few weeks and that had been painful. Beca's confidence was at an all-time low. Yet she still put up with the redhead's antics.

"How'd she take the ultimatum?" Beca shrugged. "Are you going to break up with her?"

"How can I break up with her when we aren't even together? What sucks is that if she doesn't make up her mind, I'm going to have to walk away. And I'm not sure I have the strength to do that Stacie."

"You are the strongest woman I know Beca Mitchell. You can get through this. Besides, why do you want to keep feeling so strongly for her unless she doesn't going to feel the same way back? If she doesn't decide to move forward, you have to move away."

"But why? I love her Stacie."

"Because if she can't commit, what little does exist between the pair of you is going to just fade away. There won't be any closure and you won't get the answers that you really need to move forward. You will be stuck in perpetual emotional limbo." Stacie lay down with her feet off the bed to where her head was next to Beca's. "I'm going to be here for you no matter what."

Beca turned her head to face her friend. "Do you know something I don't?" She reached up to brush an errant tear that escaped from the corner of her eye. "Has she already decided to walk away?" A pained look crossed her face as the thought snuck in that Stacie might know the ending to her story.

"Not to my knowledge, my friend."

"Stacie, I'm scared. I'm afraid she'll dismiss me and my feelings then tell me what we had wasn't real therefore how I feel isn't real."

"That's a valid emotion to be having at this juncture. Why do you think you feel that way?"

After contemplating her answer, Beca responded, "I don't know. I suppose that if she doesn't come through, my only recourse is to cut her off." Beca swung her legs off the wall and turned over on her belly and buried her head in the crook of her elbow, her body shaking as she cried.

Stacie was dumbfounded at the tears Beca was shedding since the shorter brunette was never one to express her emotions much in front of anyone. Not knowing what else to do, she rubbed Beca's back in an attempt to comfort her. Normally Beca only responded to Chloe's touch, but somehow, she knew that wasn't going to be happening. "You know, things are going to be okay. They may not work out exactly how you want, but it does get better. I promise."

The silence made Stacie uncomfortable. She felt she needed to fill the quiet with some magic words of wisdom. "Maybe she's not taking advantage of you Beca." Stacie grimaced at her choice of phrases. "What if Chloe does feel the same way and just doesn't know how to talk to you. She may not have the words to define things. I wouldn't be surprised if she's as confused as you."

Beca rolled over and wiped her tears and runny nose with her shirt sleeve. "Ewww gross." She lay for a bit catching her breath from her crying jag. "This is why I'm so stand-offish Stacie. Letting my guard down makes me vulnerable. And Chloe swept right in and got me all bamboozled." She waved her hands around in frustration.

"She'd be making a big mistake if she lets you go B. But don't ever stop opening up. If you guard yourself so much and never let anyone in, are you really living?"

"So, what you are saying is that I should let Chloe walk all over me in hopes that someday she'll love me back?"

"God no Beca! You are completely misinterpreting. Look – in your heart of hearts – you know what you want. You gave Chloe an ultimatum. All I ask, as your friend, is that you stick to your guns. I'm tired of seeing you hurt."

* * *

Beca pulled on her favorite hoodie, slipped on her headphones with her newest mix blaring, and walked to the coffee shop where she'd told Chloe she'd be waiting at 6:30. 6:30 – that was Chloe's deadline, not a minute over. Beca was trying to convince herself that she was going to be firm with the redhead. Her emotions couldn't handle much more of the indecision.

She ordered a latte for herself and found a seat in the back of the café where she could see all the patrons and the front door. She'd arrived about ten minutes early, not wanting to miss Chloe – and to give herself some time to calm down. Then she buried her head in her phone using it as a distraction. One knee nervously bounced up and down as she kept looking up each time she sensed the door opening.

As she nursed her latte, she was disheartened when she realized the liquid had gone cold. She glanced at the time on her phone and realized that it was 7:18. Fuck, Chloe wasn't coming. The redhead was always late – for anything and everything – but this wasn't just anything. This was their relationship. Beca had made the brave decision before she left her dorm that she had every right to demand a decision from Chloe. She'd been willing that morning to say how she felt then to give the woman she loved time to think about things. Now, she must be brave enough to walk away.

Beca watched the minutes tick away on her phone. 7:30. Exactly one hour past the deadline. "I'm done." She sent Stacie a text.

_[7:30 pm BM:] She's a no-show Stace. I even gave her an extra hour. I'm outta here. I'll be home later. Don't stay up.  
_ _[7:30 pm Stacie:] Be safe. Love you._

She then switched off her phone, something she rarely did, and dropped it into her pocket. Stacie had been sitting at an outdoor table, just in case Beca needed her, and watched her dejected friend walk away.

* * *

Chloe had spent a lot of time thinking about the conversation she'd had with Beca earlier in the day. "Surely she knows I love her Aubrey." She was sprawled on the couch FaceTiming with her best friend.

"Have you told her that?"

"Bree, we do everything together. Why do I have to put a label on what we are? I just want to enjoy things. It's college!"

Aubrey frowned at her friend. "While you are off having your fun, you need to think about Beca, about her feelings. She's told you what this means to her. Is this worth losing her?"

The women continued their extremely serious conversation with Aubrey trying to help her friend see things from Beca's point of view. She hoped that she was making headway in helped the redhead realize what a precarious situation she was in with the woman she'd been sleeping with for the last eight months.

"Shit Aubrey! I have to go. It's 7:20. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Beca told me 6:30 and not a minute after." She kept FaceTime connected as she ran around her dorm trying to decide what to wear. I'm so late." Chloe quickly decided on an outfit and raced out the door, running towards the coffee shop. Aubrey had made it clear that Beca was indeed serious about her ultimatum. And the more Chloe thought, the more she realized that the one thing she did NOT want was to lose Beca.

She skidded to a stop in front of a flower shop and bought a small bouquet of flowers as a lame sort of apology, hoping with all her heart that Beca was still there. As she approached the door, she stopped a moment to catch her breath before she walked in. The door closed behind her, and Chloe began searching for the tiny brunette. Beca knew she was perpetually late, and Beca always waited. Always. Her heart sank as she didn't see the woman anywhere. But she did see Stacie.

When Stacie saw the redhead, she walked over and looked at her watch. "It's 7:40 Chloe. She's gone." The taller woman watched as a flood of emotions coursed over Chloe's face – disappointment, fear, sadness, regret.

"But… she always waits." The redhead was fighting back tears.

"Not this time. It's over Chloe. She left." Stacie had stayed behind to see if Chloe was even going to show up and to make sure Chloe knew just how bad she had fucked up.

Chloe sniffled as some tears fell. "But why?"


	5. Road Trip

Beca went towards the front door and stopped dead in her tracks. Suitcases of all shapes and sizes were haphazardly piled by the door. "Chloe…" The shortest Bella was pacing back and forth biting at her fingernails. "CHLOE!" The other Bella co-captain came wandering into the living room munching on an apple.

"Oh, I forgot we were supposed to have our bags down here. I'll be right back." She turned to go back upstairs. Beca gently grasped her arm to stop her.

'Do you mean you haven't brought your stuff down yet? How may bags do  _you_  have?"

Chloe grinned sheepishly as she held up three fingers. Beca glared at her and snatched the apple from her hand, took a huge bite, and gave it back. "No! Where is everyone going to sit? Wait, who all is going?"

The redhead stuck the apple in her mouth, biting it with her teeth as she mentally ticked off the people. She giggled as fruit juice dribbled down her chin. Beca took the apple again and gave Chloe a paper towel to wipe off her chin. "You, me, Fat Amy, Flo, Stacie and Emily."

Beca was counting as the Bellas were named off. "Six? Just six of us?" She waved her hands towards the bags. "That's bags for six of us?"

"Five," Chloe said sheepishly. "Mine aren't down here yet. Come on Beca, there's plenty of room in the Bella bus. We all have our own rows. We'll just tell people that their bags have to fit in their own row. The front row can be for the pilot and co-pilot and the ice chests."

"Ice chests? What the hell Chloe?"

The redhead threw her arms around Beca and pressed their foreheads together. "Drinks, snacks, you know…" She tried to make herself super adorable since she knew how irresistible she was to Beca when she's being cute. "Quit being a stick in the mud Beca." Chloe shook her hips and kissed her friend on the cheek. "We are going to have a blast and you know it."

"Why did I ever agree to this?" Beca moaned and groaned. She was looking forward to spending the time with Chloe, but the rest might be a little trying for her patience. Actually, the only trying part of being trapped in the team bus with five other women was being trapped with Fat Amy.

* * *

With the exception of Emily, every Bella was graduating this school year – even Chloe had decided it was time for her to move into the adult world and don a cap and gown. During Christmas break, a few of the girls who didn't go out of town got to talking about the end of their college careers.

"This is our last year together guys. Let's do something special." Flo was sitting on the couch splayed out, taking advantage of the quieter house. "Spring break!"

"Road trip, road trip, road trip!" Fat Amy had been in the kitchen dishing herself out some ice cream and started running around the room waving her spoon and chanting. "Parrrrrrrrrrrty!"

Beca snatched the ice cream container from her before the rest melted and scooped her out a serving. "Yeah guys, let's plan a road trip. That'd be an awesome way to close out college." She put the rest of the ice cream back in the freezer then got a map out of her room. "Where can we go?"

"What about Austin? I've never been to Texas." Flo pointed to the state capitol in the middle of the Lone Star State. She traced the route down to the Gulf of Mexico and then west to Austin. Fat Amy, Flo, and Beca explored the options along the way as Beca mapped out the distances on her phone. Eventually they had a plan to present to the Bellas when everyone got back from the winter break.

They devised a perfect trip: two days in New Orleans and two days in Austin which would leave them ample time for the drive. When Emily got home a few days early from her trip to see her mom, she took the plans and created the cutest poster boards which outlined the trip along with possible activities in each of the cities.

* * *

After much discussion, they decided that they would only make it to New Orleans. There was more than enough to keep them busy there and hopefully out of trouble. (Fat chance!) When push came to shove, only six of the Bellas ended up being able to make the trip. Now that Beca saw all the suitcases that were supposed to fit in the bus, she was almost glad that more Bellas couldn't go. At least now, she wouldn't have to get grumpy and make everyone reduce and repack!

Tomorrow was Friday, and the group was supposed to leave after everyone was through with class. Chloe sent out a group text to call a meeting to lay down the final ground rules. Since she and Beca were Bella co-captains, the responsibility for these women was left up to them, especially Emily since she was the youngest. Beca decided to let Chloe spell out the guidelines for the as they might take her a little more seriously. She'd let the redhead play good cop so later she could be bad cop. At least that was the hope anyway.

"Everyone paid their share of the AirBnB rental. Thanks for that. The rest will be a little tricky. I'm taking my dad's credit card. All the gas for the bus will be split evenly once we get back. Food, alcohol, and entertainment will be up to each girl to pay out of her own pocket. Now if we go to a nice place that frowns on splitting the check, I'll pay for everything and then you can each pay me back. She cut her eyes sideways at Fat Amy. "For what you ate, not an even split." Fat Amy whistled nonchalantly and looked away. "Beca and I stocked the coolers with drinks and snacks for the first part of the trip. We expect others to contribute when we make stops. NO HOGGING THE COMMUNAL GOODIES."

Fat Amy rolled her eyes. "Why you guys all staring at me? I have to keep up this girlish figure somehow." She patted her stomach.

Next Beca spoke up. "Absolutely no alcohol will be allowed on the bus. None!" When Fat Amy raised her hand, Beca waved her off. "Because it's illegal Amy, that's why." Beca ticked off some of the other rules. "No wondering off by yourself on Bourbon Street or anywhere for that matters. No corrupting Legacy. No trashing the AirBnB. And keep the bus clean. When driving, we'll make a thirty minute stop every two hours for gas, bathroom and snacks."

"Damn Shawshank, prison made you tough."

"Zip it Fat Amy. I don't have classes tomorrow afternoon and will load the bus. Anyone not on the bus by four pm will be left behind. Any questions?"

* * *

The next afternoon, the Bellas did a pretty good job of leaving on time, only half an hour late. Beca chose to drive first with Chloe riding shotgun. The others settled into their own seats, happy they didn't have to share with anyone else. Beca had made a few driving playlists, so Chloe plugged her phone into the bus speakers so everyone could join in the singing if they wanted.

They hadn't been on the road more than an hour when Beca glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Fat Amy sprawled out on her seat, head back, snoring. She punched Chloe and motioned to the back seat. Giggling, Chloe slowly turned off the music. "Okay guys, first game of the trip. This one is called  _While You Were Sleeping_." She made up the beginning of a story, and each Bella took a turn adding to the story.

Once they were satisfied with their story, Chloe explained the rest of the rules. "She has to believe us guys. If you break character, you lose a point. If you go off script, one of us will ask 'Are you sure?' Then you lose two points. If Fat Amy believes us, then all of us get three points each. If Fat Amy fools us and joins our story, she gets all our points."

Beca swerved the bus a bit so that the wheels went into the road grooves and made that awful high-pitched buzzing noise. Amy lurched awake. "What? Did we almost hit a truck? Who's honking?" She frantically looked around for the source of the noise.

Stacie laughed and said, "Naw, you just fell asleep. But while you were sleeping, the strangest thing happened. We passed this pick-up. The guys inside had their windows rolled down, and several guys were shoved in the back of along with some animals."

"Get this Amy, the animals, they were baby camels." Flo turned around to look at the sleepy Bella with such a serious look on her face. "Their little legs were tied with big, thick ropes, and they were wearing colorful halters. I felt like I was back at home except at home, we carry donkeys."

Chloe got a strange look on her face and asked, "Are you sure?" Flo pouted and turned around with her arms crossed.

Legacy couldn't look at Amy because she thought she wouldn't be able to keep a straight face. "And then we passed this convertible sports car with this dude in a suit driving. When Beca got up next to him, she about swerved into his lane and hit him. She yelled at us to look." Emily turned her head around to prove how bad she really was blushing.

Chloe piped up. "All we could see was the back of a woman's head in his lap."

Fat Amy quickly sat up. "You mean he was getting a real Bhloe?"

"See what kinds of things you miss when you fall asleep Fat Amy?" Beca grinned as they knew that Amy had fallen for the story hook, line and sinker. "Guys look, that Alabama state line." Beca pulled over, and all the Bellas crawled over the suitcases and ice chests to take pictures with the Alabama sign.

The stop was short since there were no services at the state line, but Chloe changed to the driver's seat to give Beca a rest. The next big city was Montgomery which is where Chloe decided to stop. Fat Amy wanted to fill the bus up with gas, but nobody trusted her because of what happened when they were on the way to ICCA's their freshman year, so Stacie pumped while everyone else went inside. So far, things were working out well.

Next up in the driver's seat was Amy. Flo was one of the Bella's who had a knack for ignoring the Australian's antics, so she was co-pilot. Beca sat sideways in her seat with Chloe leaned up against her. The pair were always more comfortable with each other than apart. The next game the girls launched into was one explained by Stacie.

"Okay Pitches, this is called  _Fortunately/Unfortunately_." She briefly explained the rules before giving the first situation. "Fortunately, this is my first time going to New Orleans."

Legacy went next. "Unfortunately, Aubrey had to work, so you'll likely have cobwebs between your legs by the time we get back." The entire bus let loose with hoots and laughs. Emily nodded, proud of herself on that one.

Fat Amy said, "well fortunately, I am not bound by the chains of love and I will have free choice of all the men in sight."

Flo replied, "unfortunately, you are probably going to eat Café Du Monde out of business."

"I resemble that remark! I love me some beignets." Amy rubbed her stomach as she smacked her lips. "I can live on fried dough, powdered sugar, and chicory coffee."

Chloe went next. "Fortunately, I am taking an awesome senior Spring Break trip with some of my best friends."

"Unfortunately, you are sitting in front of me which means you get tickled." Beca dug her fingers into Chloe's sides and began tickling her until Chloe begged for mercy.

The girls played several other games and were getting a little buzzed by the road noise when Fat Amy pulled the bus over and yelled, "Florida State line. Everyone out."

Beca lurched up in her seat. "Fat Amy!" Her voice was loud and grumpy. "Our route doesn't take us into Florida. What did you do?"

"Oh, I just took a little detour. I figure you only get to do road trips like this once. Besides, I just followed the baby camels."

Flo took over the driving and they did make another brief stop to take pictures at the Alabama border then their longer break in Montgomery, Alabama. "Two hours left," Chloe announced. "Stacie, Legacy, think you can handle it?"

"Aye, aye captain." Stacie and Emily both saluted the redhead.

* * *

With the hour that was gained by entering the Central time zone, the women made it to New Orleans at a decent hour. They were not about to miss a night of partying so quickly cleaned up. They left the bus parked at their AirBnB and took an UberX to Bourbon Street. As they turned onto the party street already packed full of dunks, the first thing that happened was three scantily dressed waitresses accosting them in front of a bar.

One of the taller ones slipped a plastic test tube between her ample breasts and pushed Stacie's head to her bosom and told her to drink up. The Bella was so shocked that she had no choice but to comply. Of course, the servers each hit Bellas up for booby shots. Emily was waving them off, saying – "I'm only 19; I'm only 19."

The cute server teasing her replied, "Honey this is New Orleans; nobody cares how young you are." Beca watched as their innocent friend was accosted by the Cajun's tits as she downed the shot. Fat Amy pulled out a wad of cash offering to pay for that round because it was so much fun to watch.

As the Bellas began their traipse down Bourbon Street, they all had Cheshire cat grins on their faces.

Fat Amy stopped to face a balcony of young men who were dangling beads over the edge. "Throw me some beads mister."

"Show us your tits!'

Fat Amy ripped opened her shirt and threw her head back as the beads began to rain down.

Stacie turned around to walk backwards and shouted at her friends. "If this is any indication as to how the week is going to go, this road trip is just what we needed to close out our senior year!"


	6. Good Luck Charm

Beca rummaged through her drawers, tossing random equipment out. Nothing. She then took a systematic approach and took everything out of her desk as well as the dresser where she kept anything music related. Soon her bed was strewn with old headphones, broken cords, USB drives, the works. She couldn't bring it to herself to ever throw anything away.

"The red ones," she muttered to herself. "Where the fuck are they?" Beca knew she definitely didn't get rid of these headphones. They were the first expensive pair she ever bought with her own money. Then again most of her headphones were bought with her own money but still. The red ones were special. She was DJing for a kid's birthday party this afternoon, and she always wore the red ones to DJ. Call it supposititious, call it what you wish, Beca wasn't comfortable with any other pair when she worked.

She went downstairs and wandered around the Bella house to see if she could find them. Living room, nope. Kitchen, nope. Chloe's room, nope. She even looked in the fridge to see if she had stowed them in there. Actually, she looked in the fridge for an apple. Apples are red, right? Dejected, Beca took her fruit and went back to her room to pick out another pair. She took a bite of her snack and threw herself on her bed. "Nobody touches my stuff. They know it's a death sentence." But try as she might, she still couldn't figure out where her headphones were.

* * *

Chloe was having a marathon study session at the library. Her big Russian Literature project was due next week, and she had yet to start. Since Beca was graduating this year, Chloe was determined to walk the stage as well. Of course, she knew she could. She just needed to buckle down and get through the assignments.

She'd finished reading the pieces her project was focused on and needed to start the outline. She dug in her backpack for her favorite pen, a Pilot retractable gel pen with blue ink. She'd been using this pen all year and getting straight A's. Normally the pen was stuck in a particular loop in her backpack so it wouldn't get lost, but this time no pen was there.

Chloe reached deep in her bag and pulled out all her pens and pencils. No dice. Next she emptied all the pockets and sections of her bag – small and large – dumping everything on the library table. "Where the fuck is my pen?" Chloe couldn't imagine starting her project with anything else and ruining her good luck streak.

Looking through all the junk on the table, the redhead decided to take the opportunity to clean out her backpack while it was empty. She walked over to the trash and shook it out, watching all the wrappers and sunflower seeds fall into the bin. Then she returned to the pile and began placing her belongings back in an organized fashion. When that was done, she still had no Pilot gel pen with blue ink.

Chloe couldn't even fathom starting on her project, so she slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed back to the Bella house. She was hoping to avoid everyone, everyone but maybe Beca. She wasn't her chipper self and wasn't in the mood to answer all the "Oh Chloe, what's wrong?" or "Where's your smile?" questions. She didn't even want to tell Beca she had lost her favorite pen because that would mean she'd have to admit she had one in the first place.

* * *

The house was suspiciously quiet when Chloe got home. She didn't bother looking for anybody and went right to her room to fall on her bed to pout. Not long thereafter, she heard her door quietly creak open. "Chlo? May I come in?" Chloe rolled over and put a smile on her face.

"Sure Becs. Nobody else seems to be here, so we're in luck." Chloe scooted against the wall on her small bed and patted the mattress indicating she wanted Beca to lay with her. Something about being close to her Beca was always comforting.

After enjoying the peace between the two friends for a bit, Beca spoke – her voice quiet and imploring. "Do you believe in good luck charms?"

Chloe snuggled closer to the younger girl. "Like four leaf clovers? Sure. I used to spend hours in our front year combing through the grass because my older brother told me he found one there once."

"I used to have a purple rabbit's foot." Beca shuddered as she shared.

"Ewww," Chloe laughed. "A rabbit's foot isn't a good luck charm, not for the rabbit anyway." She thought telling Beca she'd lost her favorite pen and was afraid to start her project without it. Then she decided not to since she didn't want Beca to laugh at her silliness about the writing instrument being responsible for her doing so well in Russian Lit this term.

"I guess you're right there. I never thought of the unfortunate rabbit. How morbid is that though, a body part of a dead animal, complete with toenails, on a keychain." The women laughed together. Little did Chloe know that Beca was stressing about misplacing her headphones.

Beca rolled off the bed and announced, "I have a kid's party to play. Later Chloe." She kissed her favorite redhead on the cheek.

After pulling herself up, Chloe responded, "And I have a project to start."

* * *

Beca packed her gear and selected another pair of headphones to hang around her neck as she walked the short distance to the party. She got set up and pulled out her notebook as got ready to talk to the birthday boy about what types of music he wanted and some of his favorite songs. The tiny DJ reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out a Pilot retractable gel pen and clicked it a few times. "I really like the way this one writes. And it's blue." She made a mental note to thank Chloe for the pen she'd pilfered out of her backpack a few days ago.

Chloe grabbed her backpack and dumped the books she needed on her desk. She went to her top dresser drawer and dug around behind her socks and pulled out a set of red headphones. Chloe plugged them into her phone and selected one of Beca's playlists. She chuckled as she thought to herself. "Beca will so kill me if she catches me with her headphones. But she has so many pair. Surely it won't hurt if I borrow this old set!" Listening to the DJ's mixes through her headphones made them sound that much better. "Maybe one day I'll tell her."


	7. Disney

Chloe was so excited to be in Orlando with her best friend for a few days. Their first park was going to be Magic Kingdom, so she and Aubrey spent the evening before planning out their attack on the park. The place was massive so having a solid itinerary was the key to success.

"Space Mountain," Chloe announced. "We have to go to Space Mountain first. It's super-fast, and one of the oldest rides in the area. Iconic. I heard the lines get really long, and I definitely want to go to that one."

"Chloe, Space Mountain is indoors and dark. Why don't we save that for later when it's starting to get super hot outside? We are going to need the break." Aubrey tried to always be the voice of reason with her over-exuberant friend.

Once the girls had the entire day mapped out, they made sure their day bags were packed with refillable water bottles, cooling towels, portable battery packs for their phones, sunglasses, and snacks. When everything was ready to go for the next morning, they excitedly crawled into their respective hotel room beds. Even with the lights out and the big day ahead of them, the friends enthusiastically jabbered late into the night.

* * *

The next morning came early, but Chloe and Aubrey were ready to tackle the Magic Kingdom. From the moment they walked through the front gates and down Main Street, Aubrey had to keep her arm looped through Chloe's to keep the redhead from darting off to various shops and loading up on goodies too soon during the day as she was easily distracted by all the wonderous things.

The night before, Aubrey had admitted to an obsession with pirates. Therefore, their first visit was to Adventureland where the pirates were plentiful, and the rides took them to various exotic lands. They also caught the feature stage show  _Captain Jack Sparrow Tutorial._ The blonde was tickled to be pulled up on stage to learn to be a "proper" pirate. The actors even made her take oath of allegiance to Captain Jack Sparrow, and she was awarded an eye patch and made an honorary crew member.

* * *

The pair visited another few sections before moving into Tomorrowland. Chloe had been waiting for this part all day. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet as she and Aubrey walked into Space Mountain. The redhead had been fascinated with space since she was a young girl and was looking forward to the hype this ride brought.

Once they got in the doors, both women took off the cooling towels they had around their necks and put them in the zip lock baggie for later and redid their hair ties so that their long hair was pulled back off their necks. As they jointed the line, they filed into a room small, shiny, balls like the ones found in kids' ball pits. There was a star map on the walls, lots of features to keep visitors' eyes busy. As they went through the tunnel, the line moved slowly enough for Chloe to see all the aspects of the entry but not so slowly as to drag on. They also passed cut-out windows which displayed planets and various spaceships of futuristic design.

Finally, they stepped into the space station or the loading area. Chloe was really getting excited knowing that she was about to board. Before queuing up for the ride, a tiny brunette wearing a NASA type uniform approached them. "Hey ladies." She addressed them both but was clearly flirting with Chloe. "Why don't you try your hand at Mission Control before your ride? See how you do with your hands." She gave the redhead a wink.

Aubrey's mouth fell open as Chloe beamed back at the small ride operator. The redhead nudged her friend and mouthed, "she's cute." Aubrey rolled her eyes at her friend and grabbed hold of the controls in front of her and started one of the robot guided games.

"I'm Beca," the brunette grinned as she offered her hand. Without asking, she positioned the redhead in front of her, placing an arm on either side of her, guiding Chloe's hands to the controls. She guided Chloe on how to expertly blast the space asteroids that were threating the departing ships. She gave Chloe hints and talked her through how to destroy the enemy rocks.

Chloe laughed as Beca's voice tickled the hairs on the back of her neck. When Chloe had successfully protected the spaceport, she turned around. "Chloe, I'm Chloe." She reached out her hand to the shorter brunette in front of her.

"Well Chloe, thanks for doing your part today in protecting the universe. I hope you enjoy your ride and the rest of your stay at Magic Kingdom." She turned and walked away leaving the redhead virtually speechless.

Chloe had a huge grin on her face as she turned to her friend. "What was that?" Aubrey hissed.

"That… was Beca," Chloe giggled.

The pair then continued to board their rocket and depart on their trip through space.

* * *

Beca strutted over to her best friend Stacie and high-fived her. "Ten points for that one Shortstack. I should have gone with you. The blonde would have been worth at least twenty." They laughed as they continued working. After a few minutes, Beca glanced at her watch. "Break time for me Stace. I'll catch you in a bit."

Aubrey and Chloe were safely loaded in their train and pulled out of the station into the tunnels with the strobe lights flashing around them. The girls were quickly bombarded with sensory effects such as warbling sounds to represent changes in energy and various colored strobes. Stars flashed past them on all sides.

Chloe happily screamed and yelled the entire ride as the train turned this way and that, climbed and dropped all in the darkness, the only illumination coming from the lights of the ride itself. As the train shot through a spiraling circle of red light, Aubrey clamped her eyes shut and ducked her head to her chin to steady her stomach. Need to say she was quite grateful when the train pulled back into the station.

As their train came to a halt and the safety mechanisms were released, Chloe climbed out and then turned to help an unsteady Aubrey out. The blonde was caught off guard by another hand on her other elbow.

"Here let me help." Both friends were shocked to see Beca helping a slightly wobbly Aubrey. "Are you okay? That ride can be a little intense for some people."

Embarrassed, Aubrey shook her head and muttered, "I'm fine."

Once Beca was sure that Chloe's friend wasn't going to pass out, she turned to the redhead. "Hi! How was your ride?"

Chloe squealed as she unexpectedly threw her arms around the smaller girls's neck. "I absolutely loved it."

Not sure if she was uncomfortable or not with such an exuberant response, Beca just went with it and chuckled. "Well it was time for my break, so I thought I'd meet you lovely ladies to make sure you are having a good time." As they spoke, Beca began walking towards the exit with the women.

Chloe tried to stop at the photo display to buy the picture of her and Aubrey on the ride. Aubrey was so terrified by the look on her face that she refused to let her friend buy it. No amount of begging could convince the blonde otherwise. As the three walked off, Beca turned back to the person manning the booth indicating that she'd be back for the picture.

"This is where I stop." Beca pulled up short of going outside the building. "If I get in the sun, I'll melt. Plus, my break is about over." She couldn't stop grinning at the adorable redhead.

Chloe pulled her phone out of her purse and gave a sweet smile. "Put in your number. Aubrey and I are in town for the rest of the week, so maybe we can get together."

Beca complied then texted herself so she'd have the redhead's number. "Ummm yeah, I'd love to show you some of the city outside of the Kingdom." The brunette shuffled her feet as she knew her face was turning scarlet.

"I'm glad I caught you two. It's been great talking to you, and I am sure we can arrange something for later." Beca paused and thought for a moment. She dug around in her uniform pockets and pulled out two cards. "Are you ladies going to still be in the park around seven?" Chloe looked at Aubrey who shrugged. "The Kingdom is making a special video of the ride tonight." She motioned over her shoulder back at Space Mountain. "You get to go through the ride with the lights on."

Chloe squealed and began clapping as she turned to her friend. "Can we Aubrey? Oh please, please, please?" Aubrey rolled her eyes as she agreed but only because the lights were going to be on.

"Great. Meet me at the entrance around 6:30. These are employee passes for me and my friend, but we can walk you through." Beca's face was about to split from smiling so big.

Immediately Chloe got concerned. "We can't take your passes Beca."

"I want you to Chloe. It's really a freaky experience. Stacie and I do it all the time after work. Just don't tell our boss."

* * *

A few days after Chloe and Aubrey's vacation was over, and they were back at college, Chloe's phone buzzed. When she saw it was Beca, she grinned and glanced over at the Space Mountain ride photograph Beca had sneakily given her when they had met for dinner one night in Orlando.

 _[Hot Ride Operator: Hey Chloe!]  
_ _[Sexy Asteroid Blaster: Beca! How's the mouse?]  
_ _[Hot Ride Operator: Still squeaking. Have you seen the vid?]  
_ _[Sexy Asteroid Blaster: What?]  
_ _[Hot Ride Operator: WDW released the YouTube of the Space Mountain-Lights-On ride. It's gone viral]  
_ _[Sexy Asteroid Blaster: Huh?]  
_ _[Hot Ride Operator: Yeah. Check it out]_

Beca sent Chloe a link to the promotional article which included the YouTube video. Chloe glanced at the hits before pressing play.

 _[Sexy Asteroid Blaster: Holy cow. This has over 185,000 hits so far and it was just released yesterday]  
_ _[Hot Ride Operator: Just watch it]_

Chloe watched the professionally edited video which started out with some narration and then went into showing the ride from several camera angles. There were front mounted cameras as well as fixed cameras that caught the riders' reactions. Chloe finished it then watched it again.

"Aubrey," she called out. "Aubrey!" She went running to her friend's room to show her the video. "Look, look, we went viral!" She played the video for Aubrey.

Aubrey's face blanched as the camera focused in on her and Chloe who were sitting in the first row of the first car. Chloe was screaming and laughing like crazy with her hands waving wildly in the air. Aubrey's eyes were screwed shut as she had a death grip on the safety railing.

"As you can see," the voice over announcer said, "riders had completely different responses to the incredibly freaky ride through Space Mountain with the lights on."

"I'm going to kill your little hobbit. I didn't know this was for a promotional video."

Chloe wrapped her arms around her friend. "But just think Bree. You're famous." She chirped.

 _[Hot Ride Operator: What'd you think?]  
_ _[Sexy Asteroid Blaster: <heart emoji roller> <coaster emoji>]  
_ _[Sexy Asteroid Blaster: I think we're gonna be really fast friends]_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So all in all, this was pretty fun. I think by writing each chapter day by day was a fun exercise in coming up with idea. Maybe I did a decent job, maybe not. ha ha

**Author's Note:**

> I got started late so will be writing these day by day.


End file.
